The Adventures of Pepero
Encyclopedia
is a 26-episode anime
TV series created by Tatsuya Ono and Sumio Takahashi and aired on the NET Network
from 1975-10-06 to 1976-03-29 in Japan
. It has since been then translated and broadcast in several languages worldwide. The story follows the young boy Pepero as he searches for his father who has gone missing while seeking the mythical golden city of El Dorado
.
The theme songs for the series are (opening) and (ending), both composed by Takeo Yamashita and arranged by Hiroshi Tsutsui, with lyrics by Kazuo Umezu
and vocals by Mitsuko Horie
.
who lives with his mother in their small house in the village. Pepero's father had left the village earlier in search of the mythical El Dorado
, a city that is said to be built completely out of gold which no one has ever found. Pepero's father's aim is to put his family and village out of poverty. However, the father is away for a very long time and no one heard anything about him since he left. The story starts with Pepero seeing the reflection of a golden eagle in a river when he was filling some pots with water. Pepero considers that a sign that his father is alive and that he should look for him. His mind is made up when he meets two weary travelers, an old man named Titicaca and an amnesiac girl named Kayna, who apparently had heard of the mythical El Dorado. Pepero's mind is made up and he decides to set off on the quest for El Dorado with Titicaca and Kayna agreeing to come along with him. On the way, he picks up more friends like Aztec, a teenager who has to look after his siblings while his mother is sick and who sometimes resorts to stealing to support his family and agrees to tag along in promise of the lost treasures, and Chuchu, who is a small boy performing in a circus and who has to look after his sister. In one episode, Pepero succeeds in taming a wild white horse and the horse repays him by coming to Pepero's rescue whenever the latter whistles. Pepero also wears a unique necklace in the shape of a white horn which is the same as the one worn by his father. This helps people identify him as the son of Carlos. This fact is uncovered when Pepero meets a guy who claims that he is Carlos and who is wearing the same necklace. At the end of the episode we discover that Carlos actually saved this man and gave him his necklace.
The golden eagle also makes an appearance once in a while to guide Pepero in the general direction he has to take in order to reach El Dorado. Pepero also encounters such sinister characters as a swindler who convinces people that he alone can prevent the wrath of a mountain god in return for money from the natives and a girl who tries to kill them off in a maze among others. At one point in the story and while trying to traverse a cave to the other side, Titicaca gets trapped after a cave-in and the rest of the troop have to travel without him. The gang have to use their heads in order to pass through a maze and later on to solve another puzzle in order to get the map to El Dorado. This rough map in addition to another they acquire from a jealous princess leads them to the gates of El Dorado where Pepero discovers that his father is being accused of stealing the imperial jewels. Pepero in the nick of time discovers that his father is being framed by the head of the police and ends up proving his father's innocence and exposing the cheating official. The whole gang is later taken to meet the emperor and his family and there it is that he discovers that Kayna is actually the princess and that she had lost her memory when a group of conspirators tried to kill her off. The group is still there and try to repeat their act again but Pepero finds out and saves her. An engagement ceremony is held for Pepero and Kayna and the whole gang returns to their respective homes while Pepero and his father, loaded with cash, return to their village to spread the wealth among the poor residents.
The show holds a great fascination especially for the young viewers since it has all the elements that excite such an audience like lost treasures, clues that have to be solved, maps...etc. It also presents a wide array of interesting people who the gang meet and present them with moral and ethical problems that they have to cope with while looking for their way along the Andes.
Sources:
Sources:
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
TV series created by Tatsuya Ono and Sumio Takahashi and aired on the NET Network
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
from 1975-10-06 to 1976-03-29 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It has since been then translated and broadcast in several languages worldwide. The story follows the young boy Pepero as he searches for his father who has gone missing while seeking the mythical golden city of El Dorado
El Dorado
El Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
.
The theme songs for the series are (opening) and (ending), both composed by Takeo Yamashita and arranged by Hiroshi Tsutsui, with lyrics by Kazuo Umezu
Kazuo Umezu
, is an author of Japanese horror and other manga, as well as a musician and actor.He had his first book of manga published while still in high school and made manga his career immediately upon graduation...
and vocals by Mitsuko Horie
Mitsuko Horie
is a Japanese seiyū and singer. She was born on March 8, 1957 in Yamato, Kanagawa, Japan. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Masterpiece Theater series Remi, Nobody's Girl...
.
Plot
The story starts with Pepero, a young boy in a small poor village in the AndesAndes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
who lives with his mother in their small house in the village. Pepero's father had left the village earlier in search of the mythical El Dorado
El Dorado
El Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
, a city that is said to be built completely out of gold which no one has ever found. Pepero's father's aim is to put his family and village out of poverty. However, the father is away for a very long time and no one heard anything about him since he left. The story starts with Pepero seeing the reflection of a golden eagle in a river when he was filling some pots with water. Pepero considers that a sign that his father is alive and that he should look for him. His mind is made up when he meets two weary travelers, an old man named Titicaca and an amnesiac girl named Kayna, who apparently had heard of the mythical El Dorado. Pepero's mind is made up and he decides to set off on the quest for El Dorado with Titicaca and Kayna agreeing to come along with him. On the way, he picks up more friends like Aztec, a teenager who has to look after his siblings while his mother is sick and who sometimes resorts to stealing to support his family and agrees to tag along in promise of the lost treasures, and Chuchu, who is a small boy performing in a circus and who has to look after his sister. In one episode, Pepero succeeds in taming a wild white horse and the horse repays him by coming to Pepero's rescue whenever the latter whistles. Pepero also wears a unique necklace in the shape of a white horn which is the same as the one worn by his father. This helps people identify him as the son of Carlos. This fact is uncovered when Pepero meets a guy who claims that he is Carlos and who is wearing the same necklace. At the end of the episode we discover that Carlos actually saved this man and gave him his necklace.
The golden eagle also makes an appearance once in a while to guide Pepero in the general direction he has to take in order to reach El Dorado. Pepero also encounters such sinister characters as a swindler who convinces people that he alone can prevent the wrath of a mountain god in return for money from the natives and a girl who tries to kill them off in a maze among others. At one point in the story and while trying to traverse a cave to the other side, Titicaca gets trapped after a cave-in and the rest of the troop have to travel without him. The gang have to use their heads in order to pass through a maze and later on to solve another puzzle in order to get the map to El Dorado. This rough map in addition to another they acquire from a jealous princess leads them to the gates of El Dorado where Pepero discovers that his father is being accused of stealing the imperial jewels. Pepero in the nick of time discovers that his father is being framed by the head of the police and ends up proving his father's innocence and exposing the cheating official. The whole gang is later taken to meet the emperor and his family and there it is that he discovers that Kayna is actually the princess and that she had lost her memory when a group of conspirators tried to kill her off. The group is still there and try to repeat their act again but Pepero finds out and saves her. An engagement ceremony is held for Pepero and Kayna and the whole gang returns to their respective homes while Pepero and his father, loaded with cash, return to their village to spread the wealth among the poor residents.
The show holds a great fascination especially for the young viewers since it has all the elements that excite such an audience like lost treasures, clues that have to be solved, maps...etc. It also presents a wide array of interesting people who the gang meet and present them with moral and ethical problems that they have to cope with while looking for their way along the Andes.
Staff
- Series Director: Kazuhiko Udagawa
- Episode Directors: Takashi Annō, Yasuo Hasegawa, Yoshiyuki TominoYoshiyuki Tominois a Japanese mecha anime creator, director, screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and studied at Nihon University's College of Art...
, Kazushi Nomura, Kazuhiko Udagawa, Masaru Katō, Motosuke TakahashiMotosuke Takahashiwas a Japanese anime episode and series director, animation director, animator, storyboard artist, and character designer born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.Takahashi died on November 8, 2007 of complications due to lung cancer.-Television anime:... - Planning: Toshitaka Yokochi, Shōichi Kitamura
- Series Organization: Yoshio Umezu, Mitsuo Satō
- Original Development: Tatsuya Ono, Sumio Takahashi
- Teleplays:
- Shigeharu Harajima (ep.1, 12, 14)
- Kyōdō OdaSoji Yoshikawais an animator, a scriptwriter, a director of anime, and a stage director. He has worked under the aliases , , and . He dropped out of senior high school, entered an Mushi Production, and became an animator...
(ep.2, 19) - Naoko Miyake (ep.3, 5)
- Yū Yamamoto (ep.4, 6, 15)
- Masaki TsujiMasaki Tsujiis a Japanese scenario writer of TV series and films as well as mystery fiction novels. Tsuji was most active in the business from the 1960s through the 1980s, and worked as a script writer on many popular anime TV series for Mushi Production, Toei Animation, and Tokyo Movie Shinsha.Among the...
(ep.7, 10-11, 16, 21) - Shun'ichi YukimuroShun'ichi YukimuroShun'ichi Yukimuro is a veteran screenwriter for television anime series. During a career spanning some four decades, Yukimuro has written over 3,000 TV anime scenarios, including episodes of many classic series produced by the Toei Animation studio...
(ep.8, 13, 23) - Sōji YoshikawaSoji Yoshikawais an animator, a scriptwriter, a director of anime, and a stage director. He has worked under the aliases , , and . He dropped out of senior high school, entered an Mushi Production, and became an animator...
(ep.9) - Tadashi Minagai (ep.12, 14-15)
- Izumi Arima (ep.17, 22, 25)
- Yūji Mino (ep.18, 20, 26)
- Keiji Kubota (ep.24)
- Music: Takeo Yamashita
- Character Designs: Nobuhiro Okasako, Moriyasu Taniguchi
- Animation Director: Nobuhiro Okasako
- Production: Wako Pro
Sources:
Cast
- Pepero: Hiroko Suzuki
- Anita: Mariko Taki
- Aztec: Mie Azuma
- Carlos: Nobuo Tanaka
- Chutchu: Rie Miura
- Titicaca: Toshiya UedaToshiya Uedais a Japanese voice actor who works for 81 Produce.-Notable voice roles:*Ōsanshōuo-san and Kaeru-kun in Bonobono*Professor M in Burn Up W*Monsieur Dufarge in A Little Princess Sara*Enma-sensei in Mirmo!...
- Kayna: Yoshiko Matsuo
- Narrator: Wakako Ikeda (ep.1-5)
- Narrator: Mariko Taki (ep.6-26)
Sources:
Media
- The Adventures of Pepero EP Kaze yo Tsutaete, SCS-273, Nihon Columbia Records, October 1975
- DVD box set, 2004-02-27, Dream Eggs, 8 discs